The 24th-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team will travel to Madison, Wis., to compete against 45 other teams from across the country, including 19 ranked squads, at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Friday (Oct. 12). The 8,000-meter championship race is set to begin at 12:40 p.m. CDT at Zimmer Championship Course.

 Zimmer Championship Course will also be the site of the 2012 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, which will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin on Nov. 9.

 Of the 46 teams expected to compete, 20 are ranked in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll.

 The meet will be hosted by the nation's top team and defending national champion in No. 1 Wisconsin.

 All 11 Big Ten Conference program will be in attendance, including No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 16 Minnesota and No. 26 Indiana, which are also ranked in the top 30.

 Michigan finished 13th out of 39 teams last year at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, led by Bobby Aprill's 45th-place finish.

 Michigan has competed at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational in each of the last three years, with its best finish coming in 2009 (9th).

 Friday's competition will mark the second race this season that Michigan's 'A' team will be in action. They also raced at Virginia on Sept. 22, when the Wolverines finished fourth.

 Michigan moved up two spots to No. 24 in the latest USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll released on Oct. 2. U-M has been ranked in the top 30 in each poll this season. The Wolverines are also ranked No. 3 in the Great Lakes Region.

1. On his transition to Michigan as a transfer student ... "The transition was surprisingly smooth. I came to Ann Arbor over the summer, so I got to live with some of the guys. They opened up right away and it was like I was part of the team and had been part of the team forever, so that was kind of nice. As far as the training, that was a little bit of an adjustment, but I think I adapted to it pretty quickly."

2. On what attracted him to Michigan ... "Michigan has a great Earth and Environmental Science Department, so I was really looking into grad school. I kind of lucked out in a sense that my advisor here was very supportive of the fact that I still had athletic goals and Coach Gibby understood the fact that I wanted to do grad school seriously. It seemed perfect that I would have support on both sides."

3. On the difference between undergrad and grad school and his career goals ... "So for I haven't noticed much of a difference. It's been really similar to my senior year at Brown because there I was only taking a few classes and working on my senior thesis and that's kind of what I'm doing now. I have my research and then I'm taking a few classes and a seminar right now. It's all pretty manageable, surprisingly. I was expecting to have more moments of high stress, but it's been alright so far. I definitely want to continue with climate change research. Right now the lab group I'm working in, we look at climate dynamics in the past and future climate change. I enjoy that work a lot, so I'd like go into a career that involves that type of research."

4. On his expectations to contribute and be a leader for the team as a transfer ... "It was a little weird at first coming in and being expected to replace guys like Craig Forys because Craig and Bobby (Aprill) were both great leaders. I think having been a senior captain at Brown, I had experience with that. It was kind of easy to come in and not feel like I was stepping on anyone's toes. I've had certain experiences and I knew I could help share some of that with the younger guys since it is a pretty young team."

5. On how Coach Gibby helped with his transition to Michigan ... "Coach Gibby talked my coach at Brown and they talked about how best to transition me into Gibby's system. It was really nice that there was that communication between them. He kept tabs on me over the summer, but at the same time, he kind of let me build into it on my own. When we got on campus I was ready to go because he was really helpful with that."

LAST TIME OUTMichigan's 'B' team was in action on Sept. 28 at the Notre Dame Invitational, finishing 19th. Senior/junior Brendon Blacklaws(Wellington, New Zealand/Wellington College) was the only member of the 'A' squad in uniform, pacing the Wolverines with a 45th-place finish in his season debut.